Most of my listeners out there should be familiar with the series of adventure books for children written by J. K. Rowling, starring that famous boy-wizard Harry Potter. The library has all the books and movies, up to and including the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Now the original set of seven books is being republished in fully illustrated format. The ink drawings by Jim Kay add just the right touch with both small illuminations and full page background washes plus several gorgeous full page paintings. Some pictures are fairly faithful to the movie adaptation, while others take a movie version of a character and mold them a little closer to the author’s original book description. These illustrated volumes are no small pocket version either. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is nearly casserole size at nine by eleven inches and over an inch thick with glossy pages.

The illustrated volumes began publication in 2015 and the library has the first two in the series with plans to purchase all seven as they become available. And just in case you are unfamiliar with the story line, it starts out with an eleven year old orphan living with an uncaring aunt and uncle in England, when an owl messenger delivers an invitation to start school at the country’s premiere wizarding school. Harry’s life is never the same.

You can get the book reviewed here, which was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, written by J. K. Rowling and illustrated by Jim Kay and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”

Hi! This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit. Coming up this Thursday at 6 pm is the last Classic Movie Night until the fall. We'll be watching Showboat from 1938. If you can’t make it but are curious let us know so we can plan the best movie line-up for our audience again later this year, starting in September.

Yesterday was Easter, and I do hope you had at least a great meal planned with family or friends. If you’re still in the church-viewing type mood after this holiday, the library has a new DVD in our non-fiction DVD section you may want to try out. Great Churches and Cathedrals takes the viewer on a grand an majestic journey through some of the world’s most beautiful Catholic and Protestant churches with a majestic music score in the background. Both video and photo stills are used to take the viewer on a stately journey through time and place. The narrator guides the viewer through the history of the architecture involved with church building over the centuries and also the details that make these buildings truly unique. Churches are known for being places packed with symbols from the stained glass meant to convey the faith message, stone carvings showing the struggle between good versus evil, and much more.

This DVD is just over an hour long, perfect for someone who would like to do a little arm chair traveling, or someone who has that vacationing bug that seems to strike around this time of year but may be a little tight on money. And if you would like more documentary type films to watch, the library is slowly building a collection. Come on by to see what else we have that you might like, or suggest an addition to our collection!

You can get the DVD reviewed here, which was Great Churches and Cathedrals produced by World Wide Multi Media, and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”

Easter Sunday is a week and a day away, which means those who like to prepare for the holiday are probably doing so this upcoming week especially. Liz Curtis Higgs is a well-known author in our Christian Fiction section with both historical and contemporary fiction. Her husband has also recently started writing faith based fiction stories.In addition to fiction, Liz Curtis Higgs has also the popular penned Bad Girls of the Bible and two sequels, plus several other devotionals and Bible study guides. And now just in time for Easter the library has The Women of Easter by Liz Curtis Higgs available for check out.

This slim volume is part fictionalized biblical account, and part bible study. Author Higgs follows three Marys, Mary of Bethany, Mary of Nazareth, and Mary Magdalene, through the last week of Jesus’ life, fleshing out the scripture passages with dramatized sections of how each Mary was probably feeling, research and details on what life was probably like at that moment, and commentary on the whole situation. The story unfolds organically, (we don’t even meet the third Mary until the second to last chapter!) even with all the research and commentary embedded within the narrative. A study guide is included at the back with at least four in depth questions for each chapter. Though small, this book is clearly meant to be digested thoroughly, probably best done in a Bible Study setting. And a notes section covers just how many resources the author has consulted to bring a well-rounded viewpoint to the resurrection story.

You can get the book reviewed here, which was The Women of Easter by Liz Curtis Higgs, and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”

College basketball season will be ending with the Final Four in Arizona in just a few days, but if you’re a fan of KU basketball and want just one more story to end your fan season with, this week’s Port Pick will be perfect.

Fieldhouse by Scott Novosel and Sam Sharpe is a slim graphic novel telling the partly true autobiography of author Novosel and his hopes and dreams of one day becoming a Jayhawk basketball player, all in comic book style. For a graphic novel it actually has less text than normal, which means the reader really has to pay attention to the graphics to see the whole story.

The story starts with a grade school aged Scotty writing to his hero – the coach of the KU basketball team. When it comes time to follow his two older brothers to KU he is almost considered as a walk on his freshman year. But a knee injury forces him to reconsider what dedication, team work, and pursuing your dreams really means. As in all great sports stories there is an exciting game to end the story… and I’m going to leave it there. Does Scotty make it to the team? Do they win their big game? At under 50 pages this is a short read, so come on by the library sometime and find out for yourself.

You can get the book reviewed here, which was Fieldhouse by Scott Novosel and Sam Sharpe, and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”